On his back, Belikov smiled as he felt Rose's small hand caress his shoulder, before snaking her way down his smattering of chest hair, then slowly toward his abs, belly button, then further down to his snail trail and finally approaching his…
"Agh!" Dimitri moaned, trying not to become too excited, despite Rose's very sexy touch as she wrapped her hand around his cock. He'd missed her so much! All he wanted was to reconnect with her as soon as possible—her illicit touches were so welcome.
Responding only with a giggle, Rose continued stroking his manhood, slowly moving her hand up and down, while staring at him with bold eyes.
"That feels good," Dimitri groaned, his eyes fixated on his love. "Please… Don't stop!" he begged, rolling onto his side to give Rose better access. More than anything, he wanted Rose to bring him to completion.
"You're enjoying this?" she checked, increasing the pressure and speed infinitesimally.
"Oh Roza, you have no idea," Dimitri moaned, savoring every second. "Everything with you feels amazing!"
"I fell the same way," Rose groaned, kissing her way closer to his cock before finally licking her way up his shaft, then tickling the ridge of the glans before putting her lips around the head and slowly giving him head.
"Fuck!" Belikov shouted, throwing his head back as pleasure overcame him. He'd had blowjobs before, but nothing like what Rose was doing to him now. She was so into what she was doing, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by her actions. In fact, it had only been a few minutes when Dimitri felt his nuts contract, and a tightening at the base of his spine alerted the Russian Guardian that his climax was near.
"Baby? I'm about to…"
Rose responded by wrapping one hand around Dimitri's super-sexy buttocks, pulling him closer to her as he climaxed in her mouth. She swallowed, once, twice, and then a third time—Dimitri overcome with pleasure at her actions and his release.
"Fuck… That felt so good!" Dimitri groaned; lost in everything he'd shared with his Roza.
"For me, too," she whispered, before she slipped away and Dimitri was alone in his bed, awake and confused, with a wet pair of boxer briefs. Grimacing, he closed his eyes, keeping the illusion alive, just for a moment, that Rose had been with him. When his soiled briefs became too uncomfortable to bear, he climbed out of bed, stripping off his underwear and climbing into the shower to clean up. A glance at the clock showed it was 11:30 am, so literally the middle of the night for him.
Showered, he slipped back into bed hoping to yet also terrified of falling asleep. No matter how many hours he guarded, how intense his workouts were, or how many times he prayed, it was the same thing every night. Nightmares. Relentless and debilitating.
He was lucky, in a way, that they varied. There was a veritable show-reel of blame that spun through his sleeping brain in regular succession, but the variation made them in some ways slightly more tolerable.
Sometimes it was the last time he saw his father, however instead of his mother the victim of Randall's fists, it was Rose he was fighting to protect. Other times it was his last vision of Rose as they dragged him away from the entry to the caves just before he was turned. The worst dreams were the ones that were more recollection than a construction of his subconscious. Those from the time he'd held Rose captive in Galina's mansion weighed heavily on him and plagued him more than almost any other memory.
Except for the church. To date, no dream, or remembrance, bothered him more than that. As a man who prided himself on being honorable and truthful, on that day, he could admit he'd been neither. He'd taken his fear out on the person who least deserved it—and now he had no chance to tell her how much he regretted it. Regretted everything.
But tonight's dream was different. Hurting him differently. Neither a nightmare nor a recollection, tonight's fantasy was all the more destroying because it was just that. A figment of his imagination, and something he could never experience. He'd take painful memories of the church any night instead of the unattainable fantasy of the women he loved pleasuring him. Because it brought no pleasure to his troubled mind and only showed him what now could never be.
"Where's Belikov?" Adrian asked when Christian and Tasha left the room to make a tray of coffees. With Court running on a nocturnal schedule, he should be up and guarding by now.
"He was up earlier to start his shift but was looking super tired. He said he's had trouble sleeping, so since we're not going out today, I suggested he try to catch a few more hours."
"That's kind of you. I doubt Tasha appreciated it, though." With Lissa and Christian due to return to Lehigh tomorrow, that would seriously curtail Tasha's time with Dimitri.
"No, she didn't," Lissa admitted, outlining the anger she saw in Tasha's aura. "It's strange. Half the time, her reactions seem normal, but certain topics set her off. We try not to talk about Rose in front of Guardian Belikov because even without looking at his aura, you can tell it hurts him. But when Tasha hears Rose's name, her aura shows she's jealous and angry."
"I've noticed that. It's like she hated Rose." Adrian let the words hang between them.
"But surely not enough to…?"
Adrian shrugged.
"You've already considered this, haven't you?" Lissa asked.
"The thought had occurred to me. It had to be someone who knew about her spare stake. I know it wasn't you, Christian, Eddie, or Celeste—I can tell from your auras. The only person whose aura shows such anger is Tasha. I think we have to consider there's a very real chance Tasha is the one who framed Rose for murder."
Christian and Tasha coming back with coffee and cookies halted any further conversation. After taking a sip of his espresso and a bite of a cinnamon cookie, Adrian asked Tasha if she'd had any luck with her defensive Moroi combat project.
"I have," she said, looking pleased. "I met with Her Majesty, and Queen Szelsky said she thinks the idea has merit. She's studied the reports from the battle at St. Vlad's and noticed the difference Christian's involvement made. I have her permission to run some basic classes for anyone interested."
"That's huge," Adrian said. Tasha had been requesting the same of his great-aunt for years and had never got that far.
"It wasn't all me," Christian said, referring to his aunt's praise. "Rose was the one doing the staking. If there's a hero in all this, it was her, not me." Lissa and Adrian remained impassive as Tasha's aura flamed with anger, Christian's words incensing her.
"That's not true. You don't give yourself enough credit. Any Guardian would do what Rose did in that situation."
"But she wasn't a Guardian, was she," Lissa said with a sigh, feeling the loss of her best friend keenly. "She was still a Novice, then."
"All the more reason defensive Moroi magic should be taught in every academy across the Moroi world! While I did not wish your great-aunt any ill-will, she was dangerously short-sighted about the need for Moroi to stand beside the Guardians fighting Strigoi, not behind them."
Lissa closed her eyes to stop tears trickling down her cheeks. Christian grasped her hand, whispering, "I miss her, too." What Lissa could not tell him was that she'd witnessed the telltale color change of a lie. As preposterous as it seemed, Tasha was involved in the former Queen's murder and had almost certainly deliberately framed Rose.
"Is everything set?" Abe asked as he packed an overnight bag with the essentials for a few days away. After leaving Court, they'd traveled to his main house in St. Petersburg—mainly to be as far away from Janine Hathaway as possible. Now they were preparing to fly to Istanbul, then on to Antep.
"Yes. Prince Rufus and Adrian Ivashkov are arriving today, and will accompany us on the short flight to Gaziantep."
"And the others?"
"Have confirmed they will be at the house by 7:00 pm." Since some witnesses to Ethan Moore's questioning were running on daylight hours, the timing was a concession for all parties.
When Adrian had initially approached Rufus claiming to have information about Tatiana's actual murderer, the Ivashkov Prince had been dismissive. As far as he was concerned, Rose Hathaway had killed their former Queen, and that was that. It had taken a phone call from Abe Mazur to convince him it would be in his best interest to at least consider the information that would be presented. Used to peddling in secrets, Zmey merely had to mention Rufus' two mistresses, and the benefits of his wife's continued ignorance of the same, to tempt the Prince of the Ivashkov family to fly to Turkey to investigate Tatiana's demise.
The flight between St Petersburg to Istanbul took just over three hours, Abe, Pavel, and the other Guardians did not bother to disembark in Istanbul, instead remaining on the tarmac as Adrian, Rufus, and his Guardians boarded Abe's sumptuously appointed private aircraft.
"Business must be doing good," Rufus joked, a little surprised that the mobster had accumulated such wealth.
"I can't complain," he said, gesturing for Adrian and Rufus to be seated. "Thank you both for coming. Now you are here, I can outline a little about what we have found out." More for Rufus' benefit, Abe outlined their belief that Ethan Moore interfered with video surveillance equipment in the palace for a person or persons unknown. He then explained that to try to get more information, he had offered the man a private allocation.
"Have you considered that perhaps Moore was working with your daughter?" Rufus asked as delicately as he could. "You said he was working at Guardian Headquarters, and I believe your daughter was, too." The words were addressed to Abe, but Rufus looked at Adrian for confirmation. The whole family knew Rose had been dating Adrian until just before her arrest.
"I've considered every possibility," Abe's tone of voice a warning not to pursue that line of thought any further. "I am as certain that Moore is involved in our late Queen's demise as I am that my daughter played no part in it."
At the house in Antep, the Guardians were doing final preparations for Abe's imminent arrival. Moore had not been told much. Just that Zmey would conduct a meeting there in the evening, and would stay overnight along with two guests. Checking each bedroom was ready, and the house squeaky clean, the Guardians were waiting when a dark van pulled up around 5:00 pm. Pavel was the first to step out of the vehicle, immediately followed by Zmey. What Moore had not expected were the two guests; Rufus and Adrian Ivashkov. Unsure why that duo would visit with Abe in Turkey, he wasn't overly concerned. According to the other Guardians here, this was par for the course with Abe's visits.
Welcoming the Royal Moroi into his home, and showing them to their rooms, Abe suggested an hour to freshen up, after which he had organized some feeders.
"Good idea to get it out of the way before the others show up," he explained, their other guests unused to Moroi feeding practices. Meanwhile, Abe's Guardians busied themselves by attacking Moore, gagging him, and tying him to a chair. Placing him at the foot of Abe's dining room table, Ethan Moore had no idea what was happening.
Right at 7:00 pm, the doorbell rang. Pavel opened the door to welcome two humans. One a pretty young female with dark blonde hair and brown eyes, her cheek sported a golden lily tattoo. Beside her stood a taller, older man—his face likewise subtly marked. Neither looked particularly thrilled to be there.
"Please come in—you're right on time," Abe said, gesturing for them to step inside. Before Pavel could close the door, there was a blinding flash and another two people appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Ah! Welcome, welcome," Abe said, inviting them into the parlor with the other guests. "I believe introductions are in order?"
"Can I introduce Kingsley Shacklebolt and Professor Horace Slughorn? Mr. Shacklebolt is a wizard with the Human Ministry of Magic. He works there as an Auror or magical law enforcement official. Professor Slughorn is a former potions master at Hogwarts Academy, a human school for witchcraft and wizardry. This is Sydney Sage and Terrance Brennan. Ms. Sage and Mr. Brennan are Alchemists who are a group of humans tasked with keeping the Moroi / Dhampir / Strigoi world a secret. Finally, Prince Rufus and Lord Adrian Ivashkov. They are Royal Moroi, and relatives of our late Queen, Tatiana Ivashkov."
The eight people looked at one another gingerly. Abe had told Adrian there would be other people there, but not how this was going to go down.
"I have the suspect ready in the next room. Professor Slughorn, I thought you could go first? Followed by Lord Ivashkov, then Pavel and me."
"Certainly," Professor Slughorn replied. A plump gray-haired man in a tweed jacket with matching brown robes, he looked every bit the retired teacher. "Kingsley? Is the paperwork in order?"
The tall, dark-skinned Auror fished in his purple robes, locating a piece of parchment. Adrian stared in wonder as first Kingsley, then Slughorn used their wands to 'sign' the paper before it burst into flames and disappeared.
"Magical contract," Slughorn explained. "The use of Veritaserum is restricted, so has to be registered with our Ministry of Magic. It's quite a difficult potion to brew, you know. I was grateful for the opportunity."
"And it's very much appreciated," Abe replied, at his most charming.
"Veritaserum is a powerful potion, rendering the recipient unable to lie or conceal their thoughts. Just a drop of this, and for the next ten minutes, your suspect will answer any question truthfully."
"Well, I, for one, can't wait to see it in action," Abe said, opening the double doors which led to the dining room and Guardian Ethan Moore.
"Guardian Moore? Thank you for joining us this evening. I'm sorry to have detained you so indecorously. However, my friends and I have some questions we'd like you to answer."
Moore's eyes were almost bugging out of his head. Not only had his boss—feared mob man Abe Mazur—ordered him gagged and bound to a chair, but now there was a group of humans and Royal Moroi staring at him.
"But you must be parched? Let's take that gag off you and give you a drink. Then we can talk." The moment Pavel removed Moore's gag, the Guardian started loudly stating his innocence, claiming to have no knowledge of anything that might have provoked Mazur's ire.
"Before we go any further, please accept a glass of water. We might be here for quite some time."
Pavel walked around behind Moore's back where Shacklebolt was observing Slughorn empty the vial of Veritaserum into a glass of water. Taking the glass to Moore, Pavel raised it to the Guardian's lips. Disinclined to drink, in the end, Pavel held Moore's head back, and forced his mouth open, slowly pouring the liquid into his gaping orifice until Moore had no choice but to swallow.
The witnesses looked on curiously, although there was no outward indication the potion had taken effect.
"State your name, age, and occupation," Abe said, nodding as Moore answered honestly.
"Did you murder our former Queen, Tatiana Ivashkov?"
"No." The answer was clear and decisive.
"Do you know who did?"
"Yes. It was Lady Natasha Ozera."
Hardly a surprise to Adrian, Rufus gasped at Moore's statement. He sank onto one of the dining room chairs, staring at Guardian Moore in horror. Moore, himself looking horrified; he was incapable of stopping the truth from spilling from his lips.
"Were you involved in any way?" Abe pushed on, wanting to get the full picture.
"Yes. Lady Ozera asked me to disable Court's CCTV cameras so she could get into the Queen's chambers unobserved."
"Did you know she was going to kill Tatiana?"
"Yes."
"Did you know she intended to frame my daughter, Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway?"
"No. She never told me she was going to do that."
"Why did Tasha Ozera want her Majesty dead?"
"She said Tatiana would never give her defensive Moroi magic project a chance, and that we needed a more progressive monarch."
"Is that why you went along with the plan?"
"That's part of the reason. Lady Ozera and I are lovers. She said after her Majesty was gone, she would hang around Court for a few months so it didn't look suspicious, then I could be reassigned as her Guardian, and we could move back to where she lived in Minneapolis and start a family together."
Abe lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He knew about the offer Ozera had made to Guardian Belikov, so was surprised to hear the same offered to another Guardian.
"Does anyone else have questions?" Abe asked, satisfied he had enough information.
"Yes. Once you knew Tasha had framed Rose for murder, why didn't you come forward?" Adrian asked.
"Because I knew if my involvement ever came out, my life would be over."
Abe nodded at Professor Slughorn, who stepped forward, raising his wand and pointing it at Moore's head. "The potion will wear off in a moment or two. Guardian Moore will not remember being questioned," he explained to the witnesses before incanting, "Obliviate!"
There was a slight flash of light, and then it was as though they had just walked in. Moore was looking around him in confusion.
"Lord Ivashkov? Perhaps you would like to outline your talents now?" Abe suggested.
"Sure. As you may or may not know, Moroi magic is based around the four elements; water, fire, air, and earth. Moroi are mainly bound to manipulating their element. There's actually a fifth rather rare element as well called spirit, which is what I specialized in. Spirit wielders have a unique set of skills. For example, I can visit people in their dreams, see auras, and am exceptionally proficient at compulsion."
"Auras? That sounds fascinating," Professor Slughorn remarked, eager to speak to this young vampire later if he got a chance.
"They can tell you a lot. For example, I can tell if someone is lying by the color of their aura and I can also get a sense of their emotions." Turning to Moore, Adrian asked, "Do you have any involvement in the murder of my aunt Queen Tatiana?"
"No!" Moore spluttered. "Nothing at all! I'd never do anything to hurt her Majesty."
"Good—that's worn off, then," Kingsley said.
Adrian stepped forward, looking into Guardian Moore's eyes, and in an almost sing-song voice compelled him to tell them everything he knew about Tatiana Ivashkov's murder. And much like before, Moore's mouth opened, and the story poured out. The details identical to the story elicited via Veritaserum, the Alchemists, human wizards, and the Ivashkovs heard every sordid detail.
"Stop talking," Adrian commanded when they had all heard enough.
"Are you all convinced by the evidence presented today?" Abe asked, looking at each of the witnesses he had assembled.
"I am," Professor Slughorn replied. Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded in agreement.
"As head of the Ivashkov family, I am likewise certain Guardian Moore aided Tasha Ozera in the murder of our late Queen," Rufus added.
The Alchemists were conferring between themselves before Mr. Brennan noted that as representatives of the Alchemists, they, too, believed Ethan Moore and Tasha Ozera's guilt.
Asking them each to write a written statement to that effect, with one lifted eyebrow Pavel had two Guardians remove Moore from the room, still tied to the chair. Inviting everyone to stay for a light supper, Sage and Brennan wasted no time escaping Abe's home as quickly as possible. Slughorn and Shacklebolt said they'd be delighted to stay. They could apparate home whenever they were ready, but they were curious about Moroi magic and how it differed from their own.